The present invention is directed to a device which is particularly useful in laboratory procedures for indicating which of a plurality of independent but interrelated substance-receiving wells is subject of manipulation.
In various investigations or studies, such as virus titration testing, complement fixation and other immunoassays, and hybridoma and other cell culture studies, performed at medical, research, and manufacturing facilities, employed are a plurality of substance-receiving wells which are subject of manipulation; that is, wells in which at least one substance has been or is to be added or removed, agitated, heated, cooled, irradiated, or otherwise physically or chemically changed or modified. Typical of such plurality of substance-receiving wells are conventional microtiter plates, or trays, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,356,462, or simply a series of independent sample tubes fixed or removably supported within a suitable tube rack. As the gaze of an operator making such investigation or study may well be required to shift away from the substance-receiving well which has been or is to be manipulated; that is, "subject of manipulation", as for example, to pick-up a sample or reagent which is to be next added to such well, or give attention to an interruption or distraction, much too often the operator is not quite sure as to which of such wells is subject of manipulation. Obviously, an investigation or study may be punctuated with erroneous results, which may be life threatening, and, perhaps, sacrifice in valuable test substances or samples in the event one or more of such substance-receiving wells is, in error, not manipulated or repeatedly manipulated.
A common practice for identifying a well subject of manipulation is for the operator conducting an investigation or study to simply place a finger on or adjacent to the mouth of such well. In the absence of an interruption of the procedure or instinctive action by the operator in removing the finger from the well subject of manipulation, this manual well-identifying practice is generally satisfactory. Yet, while minimizing the problem of well identification, this common practice creates still other problems; namely, the possible contamination by the operator of a well subject of manipulation and/or the possible contamination of the operator by the substance(s) undergoing investigation and/or the reagents utilized in such investigation. Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is the provision of a new or improved device for identifying which if a plurality of independent but interrelated substance-receiving wells is subject of manipulation.
Another object of this invention is a device for identifying, in a predetermined sequence, wells of a plurality of independent but interrelated substance-receiving wells which are subject of manipulation.
Still another object of this invention is a device for identifying wells of a plurality of independent but interrelated substance-receiving wells which are subject of manipulation in a predetermined but variable sequence and in a manner as to avoid contamination of such wells and/or the user of the device.